Valve



2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR.

A ORNEY PATENTBD FEB. 2, 1904. J. W. NETHERY.

VALVE.

APPLIUATION FILED 11,110.4. 1901.

N0 MODEL.

No. 751,096. PATBNTBD 1113.2, 1904,

J. W, NETHERY.

VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 4. 1901.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No MODEL.

lim'

WITNESSES 6 @Q7/ye Tu: onms PETERS coA Fuoruuwu.. wAsmNGmN. o. c.

UNITED STATES Patented February '2, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH W. NETHERY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE NETHERYHYDRAULIC VALVE COMPANY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDI- ANA, A CORPORATION OFNEIV JERSEY.

VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 751,096, dated February2, 1904.

l Application filed December 4, 1901. Serial No. 84,667. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, JOSEPH W. NETHERY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State or' Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valves, of whichthe following is a specification.

My present invention relates to that class of valves which are adaptedwhen opened to close automatically; and it consists in means whereby thevalve is prevented from being held open continuously, in means wherebythe valve structure is shortened in length without reducing itscapacity, in means for accurately and efficiently graduating itsmovement and thus controlling the time and quantity of the flow, and invarious details of construction and arrangements of parts, all as willbe hereinafter more particularly described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof,and on which similar reference characters indicate similar parts, Figurel is a side elevation of a valve embodying my said invention; Fig. 2, acentral vertical sectional view thereof; Figs. 3 and 4 horizontalsectional views as seen when looking downwardly in the directionindicated by the arrows from the points indicated by the dotted line 3 3and 4 4, respectively, in Fig. 2; Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8, central verticalsectional views similar in a general way to Fig. 2, but illustratingalternative constructions oi' my new valve; and Fig. 9, a horizontalsectional view as seen when looking downwardly from the point indicatedby the dotted line 9 9 in Fig. 7

The valve-casing, so far as external appearance is concerned, is or maybe similar to that ordinarily employed, except that its length. is lessthan usual in proportion to its diameter and capacity. It is composed ofan outer shell 10 and an inner shell 1l, the latter of which for thegreater part of its circumference is divided at about the middle,leaving an ingress-opening to the valve-chamber proper much narrowerthan the diameter of the inlet-pipe; but on account of its length,

taken circumferentially of said wall, of equal or greater area orcapacity than that of said ingress-pipe. By this means I am able togreatly reduce the length of the valve structure. For example, I haveshown in the drawings an ingress-opening one and one-half inches indiameter at the point where the supply-pipe is coupled onto the valvecasing, while the slit in the inner wall is only onehahc an inch wide,so that the length of the casing is reduced a full inch. In entering,the fluid in passing from the supplypipe spreads out into the annularchamber between the inner and the outer walls and thence passes into theinterior of the valve through the slit in question from all sides exceptfor a small distance at a point opposite the inlet, where I prefer toleave the metal solid for the purpose of making a by-pass.

Within the valve shell or casing is the mainvalve seat l5, upon whichthe main valve 16 rests when the valve is closed. A stem 17 (or acontinuation of the valve structure) extends up from the valve andcarries a pistonhead 18 upon its upper end, which head is of larger arcathan the valve. Said piston-head is preferably formed cup-shaped, asshown, the cup side or flange j extending up past the lower edge of theupper part of the inner wall ll of the valve-casing', so that aninclosed chamber is formed above the piston-head.

Referring now especially to the construction illustrated in Figs. l to4, inclusive, I form an annular ring 19 at a suitable point at or nearthe upper end of lthe lower part of the inner wall 11, with which thevalve 16 will come in contact as said valve reaches its highest positionduring the opening movement. Extending between the valve-seat' l5 andthe ring 19 are guides 20, by means of which tlie main valve is guidedin its movement as it recedes from or approaches the seating or cut offpoints. The form of valve illustrated is especially designed as a flush--valve for waterclosets and the like, and while it may be constructedto give a single discharge or flush I prefer to provide a means wherebyit will deliver not only the main discharge or iiushing quantity ofwater, but also just before the final seating of the valve deliver asmaller discharge (not sufiicient to cause a flush) to lill the bowl. Itherefore provide for this purpose in addition to the rim 19, whichforms the second or seating cut-off point, another rim 2l, which forms athird cut-off point and divides the quantity of fluid passing throughthe valve (at one operation of it) into two discharges, the larger oneof which serves to flush the closet, and the other and smaller one ofwhich serves to fill the bowl after it has been fiushed, as abovestated. In doing this the movement of the valve itself' is notinterrupted; but the fiow of fluid is momentarilyT interrupted, with theresult stated, as the valve 16 passes the rim 2l on its way to its seat.

rlhe space between the ribs 2O is tapered at the ends, so that, theeffective area of passageway for the fiuid around the valve during itsopening and closing movements is greatest midway of the movement andleast at the termination thereof. The flow is thus gradually decreasedas the valve approaches its closingpoint, and the valve is therebycaused to seat slowly and easily instead of suddenly and violently, asis aptto be the result where the passage-way is maintained full sizethroughout its complete length. This gradual variation in the size ofthe passage-way may be secured either by the construction which has justbeen described and which is illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, or bythe form of the valve itself, as illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, or bya construction in which both the valve and the adjacent walls aretapered between the seating or cut-off points, as illustrated in Fig. 8.In other words, the tapering' formation may be either in the valveitself or in the walls surrounding it, or partly in both, withoutsubstantial variation in the result, one form being the equivalent ofanother and a change from one form to another being, in effect, a merereversal of parts.

It should be explained at this point that when the by-pass is leftentirely open, sothat the fiuid in passing out of the chamber above thepiston-head when the valve is opened is not retarded by any backpressure, the operation of the main valve when started is to opensuddenly and close gradually, so that the fiushing or fluid-dischargeoccurs only during the closing movement. I may, however, provide for adouble fluid-discharge or flushing by introducing into the by-pass asuitable valve, as 22, by means of which the effective area of theby-pass may be reduced, so that it shall be only slightly greater thanthe fiuidinlet perforation through the piston-head, in which case as thefluid from the chamber above the piston-head can be discharged onlyslightly faster than it enters the main valve is compelled to openslowly instead of substantially instantaneously, as when the by-pass isunobstructed, and consequently each manipulation of the valve willresult in a double fiuid-discharge or fiush. It is obviously possible tomake this by-pass-adjusting valve of any suitable form; but I havedevised a special form which possesses some advantages. It consists ofthe plug 22,' having channeled sides, the central portion being as largeas the by-pass below it, while the perforation constituting said by-passis counterbored or otherwise enlarged and threaded to receive the fullsize of the plug. By screwing the plug down tightly onto its seat theby-pass will be entirely shut ofi, while raising it slightly gives theopening desired, the channels in the sides being together ofsubstantially as great crosssectional area as the main perforation orbypass portion below. Being within the structure of the valve under thecap it is not liable to be mischievously disturbed after being set tothe desired point. This valve can obviously be set so that the upwardmovement of the valve shall just equal its downward movement, or it canbe set so that the upward movement shall be longer or shorter than thedownward or regularly flushing movement. In the case of unusually longsewer connections this will be of advantage, as it provides a means ofsecuring a flow of water suiiciently long to give such connections anadequate flush.

By means of the valve-seat 15 and rim 19 or their equivalents I amenabled to form or provide duplicate cut-off points to the valve, sothat as said valve reaches its limit of travel in either direction theiiow of fiuid will be shut olf. In an automatically-acting valve (of thecharacter in question) the movement of the main or piston valve, unlessinterrupted by some means not involved in its usual or regularoperation, is continuous until the limit of movement is reached. Itherefore (by means of these duplicate shut-off points) insure that whenthe valve is once opened it shall completely close before it can beoperated again, and this irrespective of whether the auxiliary orstarting valve is held open continuously or not. If said starting-valveis opened by a short pressure thereon in the ordinary way, the main orpiston valve will travel up and down at its accustomed speed, (or thespeed to which it has been regulated,)whereupon said main valve becomingregularly seated the flow of fluid will necessarily cease. If, however,the starting-Valve is held open continuously or becomes stuclnso that itwill not close,the main or piston valve will only rise to its highestposition and will not return to its regular seat, but on account of thesecond or duplicate seat or cut-o which I have provided will by thisascending movement, as well as by the descending movement beforedescribed, shut off' the flow of fluid through the main valve. A secondmovement of the starting-valve is a prerequisite to a further operationof the main valve in all cases.

As illustrated in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, the oblOO IIO

jects and results of my invention are capable of accomplishment byseveral alternative forms of construction, all of which, however, arethe equivalents of each other. In each of said figures a construction isshown in which there are seating or cut-off points at both ends of themovement of the valve. In Figs. 5 and 6 these cut-oli' points arelocated substantially as in Fig. 2. In Fig. 8 the valve is prolonged andthe second ange or cut-off point is below instead of above themain-valve seat. In Fig. 7 the two seating or cut-off points are formedby the construction of the valve itself` instead of in the valve-casingwhich surrounds it, this being merely a reversal of parts; In Figs. 5and 6 the formation which causes the valve to seat slowly and easilyinstead of suddenly and violently is in the valve itself instead of inthe casing surrounding it. The valve in these cases is made with the eX-tension carrying the piston-head of a large size instead of being a merestem, and the sides of this extension or body are formed withgradually-tapering depressions or grooves, so that the flow of fluid isreduced by the form of these parts instead of by that of the surroundingcasing. In Fig. 8 the tapering or gradual flow-reducing construction isshown as formed partly in the casing and partly in the valve. In Figs. 7and 8 the valve is guided in its movements by means of projecting wings23 on the valve itself instead of the wings 20 in the valve-casing. InFig. 6 I have shown means by which the fluid passage-way may berestricted,.thus adapting the valve to operate under high pressures.This consists merely in filling up a part of said passage-way byhalf-rings or fillers 24 inserted in the space cut into the valve-body,these being shown as being held by the screw 25. Thus the same valve maybe made to operate equally Linder different pressures by inserting orremoving these fillers or half-rings of a proper thickness.

Other modifications will readily suggest themselves to those skilled inthe art; but all such changes are mechanical merely and can be made atpleasure without departing from my invention.

The chamber above the piston-head 18 is supplied with iiuid by means ofa small opening 26, which extends through said pistonhead, andconsequently when the auxiliary or starting valve 27 is closed the mainvalve will also be kept closed by the pressure in said chamber onaccount of the area of the piston -head being larger than that of thevalve 16. The opening 26 is regulated by means of a spiral-edged cut-0H'gate or plate 28, which is secured to the piston-head 18 by means of apivot-screw 29. This gate 28 may be graduated and the graduation-marksmay represent either the quantity of discharge (in gallons or otherwise)or the pressure in pounds per square inch under which the valve willbest operate when set at the points indicated.

I have shown it as graduated for pressure, the marks indicating thepoints at which the plate should be set at various pressures up to onehundred and sixty pounds to the square inch of surface. The marksindicate, respectively, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, and 160; but anyother selection of figures may be made which may be desired. Inadjusting this plate 28 the screw 29 is loosened slightly, the platerevolved thereon to the point desired, and the screw retightened, all aswill be readily understood.

The lower end of the main-valve structure and also the top or cap 30thereto are chambered out by coring, and the chambers 31 and 32 thusformed, together with the longitudinal perforation 33, down through thesolid part of the main-valve casing wall 10 11, constitute the by-passleading from the startingvalve 27 around to the egress opening or pipe34. The by-pass valve 22 is preferably located in upper portion of thepart 33 of the by-pass, as shown. The starting-valve 27 has a suitablevalve-stem, which terminates in the button 35 at the upper end of thevalve, where it can be conveniently reached for starting the valve intooperation.4 When this button is pressed down, it opens thestarting-valve 27, whereupon the liuid in the chamber above thepiston-head 18 flows out through the bypass becomes filled unlessprevented by supe.

rior pressure from the outside. The main- Valve structure travelsupwardly until it reaches its limit of movement and then thestarting-valve 27, being by this time closed, it moves Vback again untilthe main valve is seated. Should the starting-valve 27 be held open ornot permitted to close, the main valve will stop when it reaches itsupward limit of movement, when the main valve 16, coming into closerelation with the rim 19, the iow of fluid will thereby be stopped atthat point. In normal operation the main valve 16 on its return firstshuts olf the iiow. when it reaches the rim or iange 21, and this marksthe termination of the ow which causes the Hush when the valve is usedin connection with a water-closet. As the valve 16 passes on beyond therim 21 the small additional fiow permitted before it finally reaches itsseat serves to fill the bowl of the closet, thereby making a perfectseal, but is notsuHicient to cause a ush, as before stated.

'I have already described a means consisting of the half-rings orfillers 24 for reducing the effective fluid passage-way,and thusadapting IOO IIO

the valve to be used under high pressures, such half-rings or fillers ofvarying thicknesses being adapted to be inserted and removed, accordingto requirements. I have also illustrated in connection with Figs. 5 and8 another device for the purpose, consisting of a thin cone-like shell40, adapted to be secured at the mouth of the inlet,with its smaller endprojecting out into the inlet-pipe. These cone-like shells being small,light, and cheap may be furnished with the valve and used or not,according to the circumstances of the case. They may and preferably dohave line score-marks upon their outer surfaces, indicating the pointsat which they should be cut olf to adapt the valve to the desiredpressure. They are made originally with the ingress end small enough toadapt the valve to the highest pressure to which it will probably besubjected and can be adjusted for use with any less pressure by cuttingoff said shell at the appropriate score-mark. No further description ofthis feature will, however, be made at this time, as said feature is notclaimed in this application, being made the subject-matter of anotherapplication, Serial No. 86,373, filed December 8, 1901.

Having thus fully described my said invention,what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a valve, of a casing having a double wall, theinner wall and outer wall being united' at or near the ends of saidcasing'and also longitudinally along one side where a longitudinalperforation to serve as a by-pass is provided, said inner wall beingnearly divided into two parts by a narrow circumferential slit throughwhich the iuid enters the chamber therein, the cap and base of thevalve-casing being also chambered to complete the above-mentionedby-pass, a startingvalve to said by-pass, and a main piston-valvesuitably seated in the main-valve casing.

2. rlhe combination, in a valve, of a suitable valve-casing, and a mainpiston-valve seated therein, two seats or cut-off points being providedwhereby the iiuid flow is shut olf when the valve reaches its limit oftravel in either direction, the space between the two cut-0H either endthe available Huid-opening is decreased and the valve caused to seatslowly and easily instead of suddenly and violently, substantially asset forth.

3. The combination, in a valve, of asuitable valve-casing, apiston-valve operating therein, two seating or cut-ofi'1 points situatedat the limit of movement of said valve in either direction, guide=wingsby which the' valve in moving is kept tol position, and spaces betweensaid wings of greatest depth at a point intermediate the two seating orcut-off points and growing gradually shallower as said points areapproached, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4C. The combination, in a valve, of a suitable casing, a piston-valvetherein, the piston-head whereof forms a partition dividing the interiorof the valve into two chambers, a perforation through said piston-headwhereby fluid is admitted slowly i'nto the chamber above said head,and acentrally-pivoted spiraledged cut-ofi1 gate to said orifice whereby theiniiow of uid therethrough may be accurately regulated anddetermined,substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, in a valve, of a suitable valve-casing, and a pistonvalve mounted therein, said casing and valve being provided with threeseating or cut-off points, one at each end of the travel of the valve,and the other near the termination of said travel as the valveapproaches its seat, whereby a large or flushing discharge is firstsecured, and then a smaller or bowl-filling discharge, substantially asset forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, atIndianapolis, Indiana, this 30th day of November, A. D. 1901.

JOSEPH W. NETHERY. [L 8.]

Witnesses:

CHESTER BRADFORD, ALBERT F. ZEARING.

